Wool-washing machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. l

. H. W. CHURCH. WOOL WASHING MACHINE.

No. 410,312. PatentedSept. 3, 18-89..

Y O s lull Fm: ave] Witnesses.

. H6107 V al/37a? fla N. PETERS. Pholo-Lillmgnphnr. WaI-hington. U. C.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

H W CHURCH WOOL WASHING MACHINE.

Patented Sept 3, 1889.

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N. PETERSv Phalol-iibogmpher. Waihinglnnl D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

HENRY WVARDCHUROI-I, OF GRANITEVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

WOQL-WASHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 410,312, datedSeptember 3, 1889-.

Application filed December 6, 1886. Serial him-220,801. (No model.')

To call whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY WARD CHURCH,

of Graniteville, county of Middlesex, State of.

Massachusetts, have invented an Improve ment in Wool-Washing Machines,of which the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representinglike parts.

My invention relates to a machine for washing wool or similar material,of that class in which the material 'to be washed is agitated in a bowlor reservoir containing the washingliquid.

In Patent No. 339,379, dated April 6, 1886,

- The invention also consists in a novel con- I struction of the bowl bywhich the operation of cleaning it is facilitated; also in a novelconstruction of the delivering-rake or device for removing the washedmaterial from the bowl and presenting it to the squeezing-rolls; also ina novel construction and arrangement of the receptacle that receives theliquid pressed out from the washed wool and returns it to thewashing-bowl.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a wool-washing machine embodying thisinvention, part-s of the frame being broken away to show the partsbeneath; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section thereof; Fig. 3, a detailshowing the main rakes or agitators, to be referred to; and Fig. 4, adetail showing the delivering-rakes and their actuating mechanism inside elevation on a larger scale.

The general arrangement and mode of operation of the apparatus aresimilar to those of the apparatus shown in the patent before referredto, the wool or material to be washed being fed gradually into one endof the bowl a by a feeding-apron b, and being agitated in the said bowlby agitating devices (shown out from the other end of the and sedimentmay be discharged.

as connected sets of rakes c c) and drawn bowl into the bite ofsqueezing-rollers cl (1, which press the greater part of the liquid outfrom the washed wool and deliver the latter on the apron e,

that conducts the washed the squeezing-rollers.

The bowl a is m aterialaway from remains, and through which thedirtzwashed from the wool settles, so as to collect in the space belowthis false bottom. The bottom provided with the usual per; forated falsebottom a, above which the won of the bowl at, below the false bottom.a", is '65 provided with one or more depressions a, a

. having at their lowest part out1et-openings a,

which may communicate with a pipe a through which the liquid containingthe dirt At either side of the depressions a a the bottom of the bowlrises upward, and at or near thetop of the upward incline is providedwith inletopenings at", which may communicate with inlet-pipes a bymeans of which water. or

other fluid may be forced into the bowl.

Above the said inlet-openings the bowlis provided with deflectors awhich direct the stream of fluid forced into the pipes a down along thebottom of the receptacle toward the depressions a a 'and outlet-openingsa therefrom, so as to effectually remove the sediment and dirt thatcollect below the false bottom a.

The agitating devices 0 c consist of sets of teeth arranged incross-bars like the teeth of a rake, there being several sets of theseteeth supported on slide-bars 0 0 which may be made of U or T iron, asshown in Fig. 3, and rest on suitably-shaped rollers f f at the end ofarms 9 g, fixed on rock-shafts h, that extend across the bowl from sideto side. The arms g g are arranged between the teeth of the rakes, sothat they do not interfere with the longitudinal movement of the rakebars or frames 0 c on the rollers f f as will be understood from Fig. 8,and the longitudinal movementis somewhat less than the distance betweentwo adjacent rakes, so that the latter can make their complete forwardand backward stroke without interfering with the rockshafts 71 theagitating devices being shownin Fig. 1 as at their extreme positions. By

turning the rock-shaft 7L quarter round in the direction indicated bythe arrow, Fig. 2, the arms 9 will be raised to the vertical position,and the arms g lowered to the horizontal position, thus raising theagitating devices 0 out of the bowl and lowering the agitating devices0' into the bowl, and this movement of the rockshafts takes placesimultaneously with the longitudinal movement of the agitating devices,so that the latter have a compound movement, rising and falling at thesame time that they move lengthwise in the bowl. Their forward movementtoward the delivery end of the bowl takes place mainly while they arelowered, and the return movement takes place mainly while they areraised out from the bowl, so that there is a general tendency to carrythe wool along from the receiving toward the delivery end of the bowl,while subjecting it to more or less of a backward and forward androlling movement in its progress.

The rock-shafts 7b are shown as provided with crank-arms h outside thebowl, connected by a link 7L2 with a lever 71 actuated by a cam on ashaft h actuated by gearing h 7L7 from the shaft of one of thesqueezing-rollers, which is driven by any suitable actuating power. Thusat each rotation of the shaft h5 the rock-shafts h are caused tooscillate through a quarter-turn, and thus raise one set of agitatingdevices and at the same time lower the other set at the other side ofthe bowl.

The agitating devices 0 c are connected by links t" with cranks i t on ashaft '0', supported in suitable bearings. between the said cranks, thesaid cranks being provided with a gear 77, meshing with a pinion i on ashaft It, provided with a pinion m, meshing with a gear at on the shaft7L5. The pinions '11 and m are of the same size, and the gears i and nare of the same size, or these gears are otherwise so proportioned thatthe shaft 1' has the same speed of rotation as the shaft 7& so that theagitating devices will make a complete to-and-fro movement due to theaction of the crank "i i in the same time that they will make a completerising and falling movement due to the oscillation of the rockshafts h.

The washed material, after having been carried forward through the bowland thoroughly agitated in its passage, is drawn out from the bowl anddelivered to the squeezingrolls d d by a delivering-rake 0, which has aforward and backward and rising and falling movement, being raised as itmoves backward from the rollers toward the bowl, so as not to push thematerial back, and being dropped as it moves forward from the bowltoward the rolls, so as to engage and carry the material up into therollers. The bowl contracts toward the feeding-rollers, and the rake 0is consequently narrower than the width of the main part of the bowl.

The rake 0 is actuated from the shaft 713, and the gearing m n, thatdrives the shaft, is so proportioned that the shaft 70 makes tworotations to each single rotation of the shafts h i so that thedelivering-rake 0 makes a complete backward and forward movement in thetime occupied by a movement of one of the agitating devices in onedirection only.

The rake 0 is provided with guides 0, traveling on guide-rods 0 thatproject from a rockshaft 0 provided with arms 0 actuated by cams 0 .onthe shaft is, which thus produces a rising and falling movement of theguides 0 on which the rake 0 travels. The said rake is movedlongitudinally on these guiderods 0 toward and from the rollers (Z d bymeans of links. 0 connected with the guides 0 and with cranks 0 on theshaft is, which thus moves the rake down the guide-rods 0 while thelatter are raised by the cams 0 and then move the rake up the guide-rods0 toward the rollers 61 d, when the said rod is permitted to drop by theaction of the cams 0 The liquid squeezed out from the wool by thefeed-rollers instead of being returned directly to the bowl by acirculating-pump, as heretofore practiced in machines of this class,falls into a settling-basin p, provided with a screen 19' at itstop,which will catch any fibrous material that may fall with the liquid,and the liquid isdrawn from the basin 1) by a pipe r from a point nearthe top of the said basin and returned by a pump r and pipe r to thebowl a. By thus taking the liquid from the upper part of the basin 1) anopportunity is afforded for the sediment in said liquid to settle, andsaid settling-basin p is provided with a discharge-opening 19 throughwhich the sediment may be discharged when a sufficient amount iscollected to render this operation desirable.

1. The combination, with the bowl, of the two sets of agitating-forksconnected with longitudinal frame-pieces, rock-shafts, and supportingarms for said longitudinal framepieces, a crank and pitman for operatingthe said longitudinal frame-pieces, and the actuating-cam andconnections for oscillating said rock-shafts, the delivering-rakes, andoscillating guides therefor, and an actuating-shaft for saiddelivering-rakes and guide, and gearing connecting said shaft with thecrank-shaft that actuates the main fork proportioned to give thedelivering rake actuating shaft double the rotary speed of the mainforkactuating shaft, substantially as described.

2. In a wool-washing machine, the bowl provided with a false bottom, andhaving depressions in the space below said false bottom anddischarge-passages. from said depressions, and inlet-passages throughthe elevated part of the bottom at the side of said depressions anddeflectors over the mouths of said inlet-openings, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination, with the bowl, of the two agitating devicesoperating side by side in said bowl, the rock-shafts and supportingarmsfor said agitating devices, and actuating tling-basin into which theliquid removed from said rollers is received, said basin being providedwith a screen near its top and an outletrpassage near the top of saidsettlingbasin, and pump connected therewith having a delivery-pipeentering the main bowl near the top thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specificationin thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENR Y WARD cnurzcn.

Witnesses:

J os, P. LIVERMORE, M. E. HILL.

